The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel - Part 13: Chapter 20

WHERE WE ARE

In Part 1 through Part 9 of this series, I argue that it is very probable that the Gospel of John provides a historically unreliable account of the life and words of Jesus.

In Part 10, I present a dilemma about the cases presented by Christian apologists for the resurrection of Jesus.  If my previous argument for the historical unreliability of the Gospel of John is correct, then some key historical claims in cases for the resurrection of Jesus are cast into serious doubt.  However, if, for the sake of argument, we assume that the Gospel of John is historically reliable, then that also casts serious doubt on some key historical claims in cases for the resurrection of Jesus. 

In addition to the general historical unreliability of the Gospel of John, there are a number of specific historical problems with key chapters of the Gospel of John (i.e. Chapter 18, Chapter 19, and Chapter 20) that cast doubt on the historical reliability of the contents of those key chapters.

In Part 11, I argue that there are several historical problems in Chapter 18 of the Gospel of John, and that this shows that it is very probable that the contents of Chapter 18 are historically unreliable.  In Part 12, I argue that there are several historical problems in Chapter 19 of the Gospel of John, and that this shows that it is very probable that the contents of Chapter 19 are historically unreliable. 

HISTORICAL PROBLEMS IN CHAPTER 20 

Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John can be divided into four main parts/events:

I. The Resurrection of Jesus (John 20:1-10)

II. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18)

III. Jesus Appears to the Disciples (John 20:19-23)

IV. Jesus Appears to Thomas (John 20:24-29)

In this post, I will point out several significant historical problems in each of the above four parts of Chapter 20 and argue that it is very probable that the content of this chapter is historically unreliable.

I. The Resurrection of Jesus (John 20:1-10)

Here are some of the historical problems in the opening verses of Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John about the alleged resurrection of Jesus:

• Because the alleged proper burial of Jesus in a stone tomb is itself historically dubious, stories about finding the tomb of Jesus empty are also historically dubious.[1]
• In the Gospel of John, when Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb, it is still dark (John 20:1), but in the Gospel of Mark, the sun has already risen when she heads out to go to the tomb (Mark 16:2).
• In the Gospel of John, when Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty, she runs and tells two of Jesus' disciples about this (John 20:2), but in the Gospel of Mark, none of the women, including Mary Magdalene, tells any of the disciples about finding the tomb to be empty (Mark 16:5-8).
• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene tells the "beloved disciple" that the tomb of Jesus is empty (John 20:2), but none of the other Gospels ever mentions that there was a "beloved disciple" among Jesus' disciples. 
• In the Gospel of John, after Mary Magdalene tells Peter and the "beloved disciple" about the empty tomb, both Peter and the "beloved disciple" run to examine the tomb for themselves, but in the Gospel of Mark, none of the disciples go to examine the tomb, because the women don't tell the disciples about the tomb being empty (Mark 16:5-8), and in the Gospel of Matthew, there is no mention of any male disciples going to examine the tomb for themselves (Matthew 28:1-11), and in the Gospel of Luke, Peter runs to the tomb to examine it, but there is no mention of any other disciple going with Peter to the tomb (Luke 24:10-12).
• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene tells Peter and the "beloved disciple" that she does not know where the body of Jesus had been moved (John 20:1-2), but in the Gospel of Mark, none of the women tell any disciple about finding the tomb empty (Mark 16:5-8), and in the Gospel of Matthew, the women, including Mary Magdalene, meet the risen Jesus before they return to the disciples (Matthew 28:5-10), so Mary would NOT have been puzzled about what happened to the body of Jesus when she had arrived back with the disciples, and in the Gospel of Luke, the women pass on a message to the disciples from two men "in dazzling clothes" (angels? ascended prophets?) at the tomb that Jesus had risen from the dead (Luke 24:2-10), so the women, including Mary Magdalene, were presumably NOT puzzled about why the tomb was empty. 
• In the Gospel of John, Peter and the "beloved disciple" find "linen wrappings" in the otherwise empty tomb (John 20:3-6), but in the Gospel of Mark, in the Gospel of Matthew, and in the Gospel of Luke, the body of Jesus is wrapped in a linen cloth or sheet, not in linen strips or wrappings (Mark 15:46, Matthew 27:59-60, and Luke 24:53). Furthermore, wrapping dead bodies in strips of cloth was not practiced in Palestine in the first century, so this detail in the Gospel of John is anachronistic and thus probably fictional.[2]
• In the Gospel of John, the disciples who find the tomb empty do not fully understand that Jesus had risen from the dead "for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead." (John 20:9). The failure of Peter and the "beloved disciple" to immediately and fully comprehend that Jesus had risen from the dead is implausible and dubious on its face.  According to the Gospel of John, they knew that Jesus had turned water into wine (John 2:1-11), and that Jesus had fed thousands of people with two fishes and five loaves of bread (John 6:1-14), and that Jesus had walked on water (John 6:16-21), and that Jesus had raised people from the dead (John 11:38-44 & 12:9-11).  According to the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had repeatedly predicted his death and resurrection (Mark 8:31, 9:30-31, 10:32-34, and Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19), so there would have been no doubt or puzzlement among Jesus' disciples upon finding Jesus' tomb empty, and upon finding the burial cloth(s) of Jesus in the tomb if Jesus had actually performed the miracles that the Gospel of John claims he performed.

Since we have previously determined that it is very probable that the Gospel of John provides a historically unreliable account of the life and words of Jesus, that it is very probable that the content of Chapter 18 of the Gospel of John is historically unreliable, and that it is very probable that the content of Chapter 19 of the Gospel of John is historically unreliable, the presence of several significant historical problems in this first section of Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John about the alleged resurrection of Jesus make it very probable that the content of this opening section of Chapter 20 is historically unreliable. 

II. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18)

Here are some of the historical problems in the section of Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John about the alleged appearance of the risen Jesus to Mary Magdalene:

• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene bends down to look into the tomb (John 20:11), but in the Gospel of Mark and in the Gospel of Luke, she goes inside the tomb to see what is in it (Mark 16:4-5 & Luke 24:1-2).
• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene sees two angels in white sitting inside the tomb (John 20:11-12), but in the Gospel of Mark, she sees one young man dressed in white sitting inside the tomb (Mark 16:4-5). In the Gospel of Matthew, she sees just one angel in clothing white as snow outside of the tomb, sitting on the rock that had previously blocked the entrance to the tomb (Matthew 28:1-5). In the Gospel of Luke, she doesn't see anyone in the tomb initially, but then two men in dazzling clothes suddenly appear standing near her (Luke 24:1-4).  None of the other Gospels agrees with the description of this alleged event given in the Gospel of John. 
• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is weeping when she looks into the tomb and the angels ask why she is weeping (John 20:11-13), but in the Gospel of Mark, there is no mention that Mary was weeping and the young man inside the tomb does not ask why Mary was weeping (Mark 16:1-7), and in the Gospel of Matthew, there is no mention that Mary was weeping, and the angel does not ask why Mary was weeping (Matthew 28:1-7), and in the Gospel of Luke, there is no mention that Mary was weeping, and two men in dazzling clothes do not ask why Mary was weeping (Luke 24:1-7).  None of the other Gospels agrees with the Gospel of John about what the men/angels said to Mary at the tomb.
• In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene tells the angels that she does not know where the body of Jesus has been taken (John 20:11-13), but in the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Matthew, and the Gospel of Luke, Mary doesn't say anything to the young man/angel/two men inside/near the tomb (Mark 16:4-7, Matthew 28:1-8, & Luke 24:1-10). In the Gospel of Mark, the young man inside the tomb tells Mary the tomb is empty because Jesus has risen from the dead and is headed back to Galilee (Mark 16:4-7), so there was no reason for Mary to talk about her puzzlement about where the body of Jesus had been moved. In the Gospel of Matthew, the angel sitting on the rock outside the tomb tells Mary that Jesus has risen from the dead and is on his way to Galilee (Matthew 28:5-8), so there was no reason for Mary to talk about her puzzlement about where the body of Jesus had been moved. Furthermore, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus greets Mary on her way back to the disciples, so she sees for herself that Jesus has risen (Matthew 28:5-10), thus Mary would NOT have told any of the disciples that she was concerned about where the dead body of Jesus had been moved. In the Gospel of Luke, the two men in dazzling clothes tell Mary that Jesus has risen from the dead (Luke 24:1-10), and thus Mary would not have still been puzzled about where the dead body of Jesus had been taken when she communicated with Jesus' disciples later that morning. None of the other Gospels agrees with the account of this alleged event given in the Gospel of John.
• In the Gospel of John, when Mary Magdalene starts to leave the tomb, the risen Jesus appears to her, but she does not recognize Jesus (John 20:12-15), but in the Gospel of Mark and in the Gospel of Luke, the risen Jesus does not appear to Mary when she leaves the tomb (Mark 16:1-8 & Luke 24:1-10). In the Gospel of Matthew, Mary sees the risen Jesus after she leaves the tomb, but she recognizes Jesus and worships him (Matthew 28:5-10). None of the other Gospels agrees with the account of this alleged event given in the Gospel of John. Furthermore, in a letter written at least a decade before any of the Gospels, Paul lists various alleged appearances of the risen Jesus, but says nothing about the risen Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Finally, it is implausible that Mary would not recognize Jesus if his physical body had been raised from the dead. The shift from failing to recognize Jesus to recognizing Jesus suggests that this account in the Gospel of John is either a fictional story or that the appearance of Jesus to Mary was a dream, a hallucination, or a memory of seeing someone else at the tomb that was re-interpreted by Mary sometime after the experience took place.
• In the Gospel of John, Jesus asks Mary Magdalene why she was weeping, Jesus tells Mary not to touch his body, and Jesus gives Mary a message to take to his disciples: "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." (John 20:15-17), but in none of the other Gospels does Jesus ask Mary why she is weeping, in none of the other Gospels does Jesus tell Mary to not touch his body, and in none of the other Gospels does Jesus tell Mary to take the above message to his disciples (Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, & Luke 24:1-10).  None of the other Gospels agrees with the Gospel of John about what the risen Jesus allegedly said to Mary.
• In the Gospel of John, after seeing the risen Jesus at the tomb, Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus' disciples and tells them, "I have seen the Lord." (John 20:16-18), but in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke, Mary does not see the risen Jesus at the tomb, and in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians he lists a number of appearances of the risen Jesus but makes no mention of an appearance to Mary Magdalene (1 Cor. 15:3-8). In the Gospel of Mark, Mary sees a young man in a white robe sitting inside the tomb and then she doesn't tell any of the disciples about her visit to the tomb (Mark 16:1-8), and in the Gospel of Luke, Mary sees two men in dazzling clothes in or near the tomb, and she tells the disciples about her experience, but she does not claim to have seen the risen Jesus (Luke 24:1-10).  
• In Part 7 of this series, I argued that the dialogue between Jesus and Mary Magdalene in this part of the Gospel of John (John 20:11-18) is probably either fictional or is historically unreliable.

Since we have previously determined that it is very probable that the Gospel of John provides a historically unreliable account of the life and words of Jesus, and that it is very probable that Chapter 18 and Chapter 19 of the Gospel of John are historically unreliable, the presence of several significant historical problems in this second section of Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John about the alleged appearance of the risen Jesus to Mary Magdalene make it very probable that the this second section of Chapter 20 is historically unreliable. 

III. Jesus Appears to the Disciples (John 20:19-23)

Here are some of the historical problems in the third section of Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John about the alleged appearance of the risen Jesus in Jerusalem to his disciples:

• In the Gospel of John, the risen Jesus appears to his disciples in Jerusalem on Sunday evening, about 48 hours after he was allegedly buried in a tomb (John 20:19), but both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew clearly imply that the first appearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples took place after the disciples had returned to Galilee (Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10 & 28:16-20).  Since it took about a week to travel on foot from Jerusalem to Galilee, this means that the first appearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples took place in Galilee a week or more after Jesus was crucified, according to the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew. 
• In the Gospel of John, when the risen Jesus first appears to his disciples, Jesus shows the wounds in his hands and his side to them (John 20:20).  No other Gospel ever mentions Jesus being wounded in his side while on the cross. No other Gospel ever mentions there being a wound on the side of the risen Jesus. No other Gospel ever mentions that the risen Jesus showed a wound in his side to his disciples. No other Gospel ever mentions that the Jewish leaders asked for the legs of the crucified men to be broken. No other Gospel ever mentions the breaking of the legs of the other men who were crucified with Jesus. The story of the wound in Jesus' side is probably a fictional event created by the author of the Gospel of John on the basis of two Old Testament prophecies: (a) that none of Jesus' bones would be broken (John 19:36), and (b) that Jesus would be looked upon by those who pierced him with a spear (John 19:37).
• In the Gospel of John, when the risen Jesus first appears to his disciples, Jesus shows the wounds in his hands and his side to them (John 20:20), but in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shows his hands and his feet to the disciples, and there is no indication that he was showing them wounds in his hands or in his feet (Luke 24:36-40).  Jesus is simply demonstrating that he has a tangible, physical body.
• In the Gospel of John, the risen Jesus tells his disciples: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21), but in the Gospel of Matthew, the risen Jesus does not say this when he appears to his disciples (Matthew 28:16-20), and in the Gospel of Luke, the risen Jesus does not say this when he appears to his disciples (Luke 24:36-49). 
• In the Gospel of John, when the risen Jesus appears to his disciples, he breathes on his disciples and tells them: "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22), but in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke, when the risen Jesus appears to his disciples, no mention is made of Jesus breathing on his disciples, and Jesus does not say to them "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:16-20 & Luke 24:36-49).  Furthermore, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus implies that the Holy Spirit has not yet been sent to the disciples and that they must wait in Jerusalem for this event to happen at a later date (Luke 24:49). 
• In the Gospel of John, when Jesus first appears to his disciples, he tells them: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:23), but in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke, when the risen Jesus first appears to his disciples, he does say the words quoted above, and he does not tell them that they have the authority to determine whether someone's sins will be forgiven (Matthew 28:16-20 & Luke 24:36-49).

Since we have previously determined that it is very probable that the Gospel of John provides a historically unreliable account of the life and words of Jesus, and that it is very probable that Chapter 18 and Chapter 19 are historically unreliable, the presence of several significant historical problems in this third section of Chapter 20 about the alleged appearance of the risen Jesus in Jerusalem to his disciples make it very probable that the content of this third section of Chapter 20 is historically unreliable. 

IV. Jesus Appears to Thomas (John 20:24-29)

[This section is still in work]

Since we have previously determined that it is very probable that the Gospel of John provides a historically unreliable account of the life and words of Jesus, and that it is very probable that the contents of Chapter 18 and Chapter 19 are historically unreliable, the presence of several significant historical problems in this section of Chapter 20 about the alleged appearance of the risen Jesus to his disciple Thomas make it very probable that the content of this fourth section of Chapter 20 is historically unreliable. 

CONCLUSION ABOUT CHAPTER 20

Because it is very probable that the Gospel of John provides a historically unreliable account of the life and words of Jesus, because it is very probable that the content of Chapter 18 of the Gospel of John is historically unreliable, and because it is very probable that the content of Chapter 19 of the Gospel of John is historically unreliable, the presence of several historical problems in each of the four main sections of Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John make it very probable that the content of Chapter 20 is also historically unreliable.

END NOTES

1. See Part 12 of this series, especially the section called: "IV. The Burial of Jesus (John 19:38-42)".

2. R. Alan Culpepper, "The Gospel of Luke" in The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), p.472.